Air filter reconditioning apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

An air filter reconditioning apparatus is provided for cleaning air filters. There is a vessel body with a lid and an arbor axle tube provides a source of incoming air. A two stage live arbor is provided having a first roller bearing fitted on the arbor axle tube, a spacer ring fitted on the first roller bearing, a second roller bearing fitted on the arbor axle tube, an impeller ring fitted on the second roller bearing and a housing fitted on the spacer ring and the impeller ring, with an air redirection plate disposed in the housing and fitted to the arbor axle tube. A V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter is threadably connected to the housing such that the housing and the V-grooved nozzle adapter rotate around the arbor axle tube. Nozzles defined in the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter direct air into the air filter during rotation.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application havingSer. No. 61/490,863, filed on May 27, 2011 the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference, and this applicationclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Application having Ser. No.61/580,407, filed on Dec. 27, 2011 the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention is directed to a device for cleaning air filters.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

There exists a need for vehicles to have clean air filters at all times.This is due to the fact that in order for an engine to perform properlyit requires a constant supply of clean air. During combustion theincoming air must be clean. If the incoming air is dirty, then theinternal passages in the engine may become fouled and the internalcomponents of the engine will wear out prematurely. Thus, air filtersare a critical component of every engine.

In addition, some engines are used in very dusty environments. Forexample, engines used in heavy construction equipment are constantlyexposed to dust at the worksite. The air filters of these engines becomequickly fouled with dust particles, plant vegetation, insects, etc.Indeed, in some instances very dirty air filters have been known tospontaneously combust as the air is drawn through the dirty air filter.

Conventional solutions to the problem of dirty air filters includereplacing the air filter or cleaning the air filter. Replacing the airfilter is not a cost efficient solution because some air filters costhundreds of dollars. As for cleaning the air filters, the machinespresently used for cleaning air filters are massive, non-transportable,expensive, and have large energy requirements. In addition, the airfilters are removed from the vehicles and must be transported to thecleaning facility. The cleaning facility itself requires massive piecesof equipment to produce pressurized air, vacuums, etc. In addition,these cleaning facilities are very expensive to operate.

What is needed is an air filter cleaner that is inexpensive, easy touse, lightweight and energy efficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An air filter reconditioning apparatus and method is provided. The airfilter reconditioning apparatus includes an air filter cleaning assemblyand an air supply assembly. The air filter cleaning assembly includes avessel body, a lid, a two-stage live arbor, a V-grooved arbor nozzleadapter, and an arbor axle tube that is supported by the lid, such thatthe lid supports the two-stage live arbor. The two-stage live arborincludes a pair of internal roller bearings, an impeller ring and an airredirection plate, and the two-stage live arbor is mounted on an arboraxle tube. A relief valve is joined to the end of the arbor axle tube.There is a V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter that is threaded to thetwo-stage live arbor such that the two-stage live arbor and theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter are capable of rotating together. TheV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter has a cylindrical wall and an arbor endcap, and there is a first V-groove defined in the cylindrical wall andthere are nozzle adapter openings defined in the cylindrical wall suchthat the first V-groove is in fluid communication with nozzle adapteropenings. Custom shaped and sized V-grooved arbor nozzle adapters can bethreaded to the live arbor such that air filters of many different sizescan be cleaned.

In addition, a pressure relief valve threaded to an end of the arboraxle tube can be removed from the end of the arbor axle tube and aV-groove arbor nozzle adapter can be threaded to the end of the arboraxle tube. This allows smaller dimensioned air filters to be cleaned,for example the air filters used in small portable equipment. Inaddition, a filter bag to be cleaned can be clamped to the two-stagelive arbor and cleaned by the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter. Variousadapters can be utilized to adapt differently configured air filters andpositioned between the filter and the lid, for example a PowerCore®brand air filter. PowerCore® brand air filters are commerciallyavailable from and manufactured by Donaldson Company, Inc. 1400 West94th Street, Minneapolis, Minn. 55431.

The nozzle adapter openings are defined in the cylindrical wall of theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter can be in spaced apart groups of nozzleadapter openings that are linearly aligned with one another. Thecylindrical wall also defines a second V-groove and defines additionalnozzle adapter openings that are in fluid communication with the secondV-groove. The first and second V-grooves are diametrically opposed toone another, that is, they are disposed about 180 degrees apart from oneanother on the cylindrical wall of the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter.In addition, the nozzle adapter openings in fluid communication with thefirst V-groove can be offset relative to the nozzle adapter openings influid communication with the second V-groove.

The air supply assembly is for controllably delivering incoming byinitially delivering incoming air at a reduced rate to cause the livearbor to being rotating. The incoming air flows through the arbor axletube and though arbor axle tube ports defined in the arbor axle tubewhere it is delivered to a live arbor interior. The incoming airflowthen flows through the impeller ring and through the air redirectionplate, thus causing the two-stage live arbor to commence rotating aboutthe arbor axle tube, and this also causes V-grooved arbor nozzle adapterto begin rotating. Then, the air supply assembly delivers a largervolume of air to the arbor axle tube to open a pressure relief valvedisposed at the end of the arbor axle tube to deliver a sufficientamount of air to clean the air filter. The air exits out the nozzleadapter openings of the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter and impacts aninternal surface of an air filter to be cleaned and blows dirt anddebris out of the air filter. The air supply assembly includes aprogrammable logic controller to regulate the pressure and rate andduration of the incoming air being delivered to the arbor axle tube.

In other preferred embodiments the dimensions of the components of theair filter cleaning assembly can be varied to accommodate differentlysized air filters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the air filter cleaning assembly of anair filter reconditioning apparatus.

FIG. 1 a is an elevational view of the air filter cleaning assembly ofthe air filter reconditioning apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the air filter cleaning assembly ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 2 a is a sectional view of a portion of a lifting guide assembly.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an air supply assembly for use in the ofthe air filter reconditioning apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of detail A of FIG. 3 showing a clamp.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the air filter cleaning assembly of the airfilter reconditioning apparatus wherein a lifting bar for lifting a lidis not shown.

FIG. 6 is a sectional perspective view of the air filter cleaningassembly showing an air filter disposed in the air filter reconditioningapparatus.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the as a filter support grid plate forsupporting the air filter.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a two stage live arbor and a V-groovedarbor nozzle adapter.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of detail B of FIG. 8 of the two stage livearbor and a portion of the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the two-stage live arbor and arbor axletube wherein a portion of the housing is removed.

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of a hub that is connected to a lid.

FIG. 11 a is a sectional view of the hub taken along line X-X of FIG.11.

FIG. 11 b is a front perspective view of the hub.

FIG. 11 c is rear perspective view of the hub shown in FIG. 11B.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter.

FIG. 12 a is a sectional view of the V-grooved arbor nozzle adaptertaken along line S-S of FIG. 12.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter ofFIG. 12 depicting air flowing out of the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter.

FIG. 13 a depicts air impact patterns taken along line T-T of FIG. 13.

FIG. 13 b depicts air impact patterns taken along line V-V of FIG. 13.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of another preferred embodiment wherein theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter is replaced with a selective nozzleadapter.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of another preferred embodiment wherein theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter is replaced with a filter platformassembly.

FIG. 16 is sectional view of another preferred embodiment wherein theair filter rotates around a stationary V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of another preferred embodiment showing afilter bag to be cleaned clamped to the two stage live arbor and theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter is threaded to an arbor axle tube.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of detail C shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the lid supported in an invertedposition on a vessel body such that the air filter can be removablysecured to beaded cords and a filter support grid plate can be joined tothe beaded cord so that the lid and air filter can be turned over at thesame time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description common reference numbers are used todesignate the same parts, pieces or components, surfaces or elementsthat are shown in the drawing figures.

An air filter reconditioning apparatus 10 is shown in FIGS. 1-4 andcomprises an air filter cleaning assembly 15 and an air supply assembly21. In particular, the air filter cleaning assembly 15 is shown in FIGS.1, 1 a, and 5-13 b, and the air supply assembly 21 is shown in FIGS. 3and 4. The air filter cleaning assembly 15 includes a vessel body 12, alid 14, a two-stage live arbor 16, a V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter 17and a lifting guide assembly 18. The air filter reconditioning apparatus10 is for cleaning air filters 11 (FIG. 6) used in cars, heavyconstruction equipment, small engines, and other types of air filters aswill be described presently.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 2 a the vessel body 12 has a surroundingwall portion 20 joined to a base portion 22 having a base wall 24. Thesurrounding wall portion 20 and the base portion 22 are joined with at aclamp 26 and a clamping seal 26 a as shown in (FIGS. 4-5), such that anairtight seal is formed when the base portion 22 and surrounding wallportion 20 are clamped together. The surrounding wall portion 20 hasvessel body end wall 28 that defines a vessel body opening 30. Thevessel body end wall 28 is joined to riser component 31 with, forexample a weld 28 a. The riser component 31 has a first riser portion 25that is joined to a second riser portion 29, such that the second risercomponent 29 is perpendicular relative to the first riser component 25.The second riser component 29 abuts against an O-ring 76 that isdisposed the lid 14, and in particular a lid recess 14 a defined in thelid 14. The lid also has a surrounding flange 14 b (FIGS. 2 a and 6)that provides the lid 14 with rigidity and support for a lid-cross bar60 and an incoming air cross tube 66. The O-ring 76 prevents the seepageof air out of the vessel body 12, thus ensuring the vessel body 12 andlid 14 form an airtight seal when the lid 14 is clamped to the vesselbody 12. Joined to the first riser portion 25 with, for example a boltor a weld, is a latch 78, and as will be described presently latches 78are employed to releasably secure the lid 14 to the vessel body 12. Alsoshown is a rotating ring 82 that is partially disposed in a latch recess78 a such that the rotating ring 82 is rotatably secured and supportedon the first riser portion 25, thus allowing the lid 14 to be rotatedrelative to the latches 78. The vessel body 12 can comprise metal,aluminum, plastics, fiberglass and other suitable materials.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vessel body 12 defines first and second exhausttube openings 34, 36. Grommets 38 are positioned in each of the firstand second exhaust tube openings 34, 36. A first exhaust tube 40 extendsthrough the first exhaust tube opening 34 and grommet 38 and into afilter support housing 43. A second exhaust tube 41 extends through thesecond exhaust tube opening 36 and grommet 38 into the filter supporthousing 43. The grommets 38 ensure an airtight seal. The filter supporthousing 43 supports an outflow air filter 42 and a high efficiencyparticulate air (HEPA) filter 42 a for filtering the air prior to theair exiting the vessel body 12 through the first and second exhausttubes 40, 41. The outflow air filter 42 and HEPA filter 42 a aredisposed such that they abut the air filter support housing 43 and aresecured thereto with a stud 47 and a wing nut 48. The air exiting thefirst and second exhaust tubes 40, 41 is thus filtered before it exitsthe vessel body 12. It is pointed out that air can only exit the airfilter reconditioning apparatus 10 through outflow air filter 42 andHEPA filter 42 a and the first and second exhaust tubes 40, 41 becauseof the airtight seals formed by the grommets 38, the a clamping seal 26a, and the O-ring 76. In addition, in one of the preferred embodimentsall the air filters mentioned herein are embodied as (HEPA) type airfilters. A vibrator 46 is mounted on the filter support housing 43 sothat the air filter 42 can be vibrated when the vibrator 46 isactivated, such that the outflow filter 42 is capable of self-cleaningwhen vibrated manually or as an automatic function of the PLC 95 cycle.A debris bag 51 is disposed in the base portion 22 and is for collectingdebris 50. The debris bag 51 may be removed and disposed of or shakenout and reused. The vessel body 12 also has mounted thereon a safetyswitch 54, and a lead 54 a extends from the safety switch 54 andconnects to a programmable logic controller 95 (hereinafter sometimesreferred to as PLC) that is part of the air supply assembly 21. The PLC95 can automatically turn off the air filter reconditioning apparatus 10in the event the pressure level internal to the vessel body 12 exceeds apredetermined amount or is other problems are detected.

The lid 14 shown has a hub 55 (shown in detail in FIGS. 11, 11 a-11 c)and the hub 55 is attached to the lid 14 with bolts or screws 56. Thehub 55 has a hub side wall 57 that defines a first hub opening 58 thathas a first internal hub thread 59. A lid-cross bar 60 having anexternal thread 61 (FIG. 2) is threaded to the first internal hub thread59. The hub 55 also defines second hub opening 62 with a second internalhub thread 63, and defines an arbor axle tube opening 64 with aninternal arbor axle tube thread 65. The internal arbor axle tube thread65 is capable of being threaded to an arbor axle tube 112 (shown inFIGS. 9 and 10). An incoming air cross tube 66 having an external thread67 is threaded to the second hub internal thread 63 (FIG. 2). Inaddition to allowing for the flow of incoming air 80, the air cross tube66 in combination with the lid-bar 60 are used for raising and lowingthe lid 14. The arbor axle tube 112 is threaded to the internal arboraxle tube thread 65. An incoming air 80 flow passage 68 is thus definedby the incoming air cross tube 66, the second hub opening 62, the arboraxle tube opening 64 and the arbor axle tube 112. In FIGS. 2 and 3 thesource of the incoming air flow 80 is an accumulator 90 that ispressurized by a compressor 91. A filter regulator dryer 92 is in fluidcommunication with and disposed between the air compressor 91 and theaccumulator 90. The incoming air flow 80 is designated by the letter Iin FIG. 3. The compressor 91 can be designed to run efficiently at about90-100 cubic feet of air per minute. The lid 14 can be embodied with alid pressure port 81 with a gauge 85 in order to monitor the internalpressure of the air filter 11.

As shown in FIG. 2 a the lid 14 also has web 69 that supports beadedcords 70 in a sealed manner such that air cannot escape through the web69, and the beaded cords 70 have segments 71 that are joined to beads72. There is a filter support grid plate 73 (best shown in FIGS. 6 and7) that has rings 74 that are spaced apart and have different diametersand U-shaped members 75 that are joined to the rings 74. Together, therings 74 and U-shaped members 75 define grid openings 77. The ends 75 aof each of the U-shaped members 75 are spaced from one another bysegment gap distance designated SD in FIG. 7 that is sized to allow thesegments 71 to pass there-through, but not the beads 72. The ends 75 aare spaced from one another and extend beyond the ring 74. The segments71 are capable of being moved in and out of the U-shaped members 75 toadjust the position of the filter support grid plate 73 relative to theweb 69. The filter support grid plate 73 is thus supported on the beads72 and may be moved closer or farther from the web plate 69 and thus thelid 14 by adjusting the beaded cords 70. Air filters 11 (see FIG. 6) ofdifferent dimensions can be supported on the filter grid support plate73. In addition, the filter support grid plate 73 allows debris 50 topass through the through the grid openings 77 defined by the filtersupport plate grid 73 and fall into the base portion 22.

In another preferred embodiment the filter support grid plate 73 is usedin combination with a sealing disc 182 that can be used in connectionwith air filters 11 that are open at both ends.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 1 a, 2 a extending from and joined to the vesselbody end wall 28 is a pair of latches commonly designated 78. Each ofthe latches 78 has facing first and second latch edges 79 a, 79 b thatdefines a latch opening 79, and the latch openings 79 are sized toreceive the lid-cross bar 60 and the incoming air cross tube 66. Thelatches 78 are for releasably securing the lid 14 to the vessel body 12.

The lifting guide assembly 18 includes the previously mentioned rotatingring 82 that is supported on the first riser portion 25 of the risercomponent 31. First and second lifting guides 83, 84 extend from and arejoined with the rotating ring 82, such that the applying a rotationalforce (a force in the direction of arrow D shown in FIG. 1) to the firstand second lifting guides 83, 84 results in the rotation of the firstand second lifting guides 83, 84 relative to the latches 78. Thisrotation allows the lid-cross bar 60 and the incoming air cross tube 66move in and out of the latches 78 between a locked lid position (shownin FIG. 1) wherein the lid-cross bar 60 and the incoming air cross tube66 are received in the latches 78, and an unlocked lid position whereinthe lid-cross bar 60 and the incoming air cross tube 66 are notpositioned in the latches 78. Extending from and rotatably supported bythe first and second lifting guides 83, 84 is a lifting bar 86. Each ofthe first and second lifting guides 83, 84 define elongated slots 83 a,84 a, sized to receive the lid-cross bar 60 and the incoming air crosstube 66. The first and second lifting guides 83, 84 have function toguide (and prevent damage to) the lid 14, the two-stage live arbor 16,and the arbor nozzle adapter 17 as they are lifted out of the vesselbody 12 or fitted on the vessel body 12. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 2 a, ahand crank 88 is provided and is connected to the lifting bar 86. Thestraps 89 are joined to the lifting bar 86 at one end thereof and loopedaround lid-cross bar 60 and incoming air cross tube 66 at the other endsthereof. Rotating the hand crank 88 (when the lid-cross bar 60 and theincoming air cross tube 66 are not positioned in the latches 78) coilsthe strap 89 around the lifting bar 86 and in doing so the strap 89exerts a lifting force on the lid 14 to thus raise the lid 14. Thislifting of the lid 14 by way of the hand crank 88 is only possible whenthe lid-cross bar 60 and the incoming air cross tube 66 have beenrotated out of the latches 78.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the air supply assembly 21 that includes theaccumulator 90 and compressor 91 for supplying the incoming air 80. Inparticular, the accumulator 90 is the source of the incoming air 80 thatis provided to the two-stage live arbor 16. In one of the preferredembodiments the accumulator 90 is mounted on the vessel body 12 (FIGS. 1a and 5). The compressor 91 compresses air that flows through the filterregulator dryer 92 and then the air flows into the accumulator 90. Theaccumulator 90 has a drain cock 93 and a pressure transducer 94, and thepressure transducer 94 detects the pressure of the air internal to theaccumulator 90. A pressure transducer lead 94 a is provided that isconnected to the pressure transducer 94 and the programmable logiccontroller 95. Internal accumulator 90 pressure data is sent to the PLC95 by way of the pressure transducer lead 94 a. The PLC 95 controls theflow of air in the air supply assembly 21 by controlling the opening andclosing of the first and second solenoid valves 96 a, 96 b. Suchprogrammable logic controllers can, for example, be commerciallyobtained from Siemens AG having corporate headquarters in Munich,Germany.

There are first and second solenoid valves 96 a, 96 b are in fluidcommunication with the interior of the accumulator 90, and the first andsecond solenoid valves 96 a, 96 b are under the control of the PLC 95via first and second leads 97 a, 97 b. The first solenoid valve 96 a isfor allowing a very low flow rate of air to escape out of theaccumulator 90 to initiate spinning of the two-stage live arbor 16.Then, the second solenoid valve 96 b allows for a greater flow rate ofair to escape from the accumulator 90 to increase the volume of incomingair 80 and unseating the pressure relief valve 140 to deliver a greatervolume of incoming air 80 to thoroughly clean the air filter 11. Inparticular, the incoming air 80 air flows through the first and secondsolenoid valves 96 a, 96 b and into a manifold 98, and then through acompression fitting 101 and through an air hose 99 and through a secondcompression fitting 101 that is joined to a pipe 103 that is supportedby and extends through a guide 105. The guide 105 is attached to thevessel body 12. The pipe 103 is connected to a coupler body 107 that, inturn, is connected to an air nipple 109. An elbow 111 connects the airnipple 109 to the incoming air cross tube 66 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2).It is pointed out that the elbow 111 and air nipple 109 prevent couplingof to coupler body 107 if they are not properly aligned and in afunctional position.

The vibrator 46 is connected to a wiring harness 46 a that connects thevibrator 46 to the PLC 95, and the wiring harness 46 extends through agrommet 38 and into the vessel body 12, such that the grommet 38 formsan airtight seal. The PLC 95 controls and monitors the operation andfunctioning of the vibrator 45. The PLC 95 also regulates the rate ofincoming air 80 by controlling the by controlling the first and secondsolenoid valves 96 a, 96 b, such that the blasts of incoming air 80 canbe monitored and controlled. The frequency, duration of pulses ofincoming air 80 and complete cycle times are adjustable and preset viathe PLC 95 (or may be controlled by the user/operator depending on theair filter 11 and the size of the compressor 91). In addition, the PLC95 includes a manual pulse button 95 a that the operator can manuallydepress to manually activate the second solenoid valve 96 b.Programmable logic controllers and the operation and use and operationof programmable logic controllers are well known to those havingordinary skill in the art and are therefore not described in greaterdetail herein.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 8-10 there is a two stage a two stage livearbor 16 that has a housing 102 with opposed first and second housingends 104, 106 spaced from one another by a housing wall 108 that has acylindrical shape. The housing 102 defines a housing port 125 in thehousing wall 108. The housing wall 108 has an externally threadedportion 110 that extends from the first housing end 104 and in adirection toward the second housing end 106 for a distance designatedDD. The arbor axle tube 112 has opposed first and second threaded arboraxle tube ends 115 a, 115 b and the first threaded arbor axle tube end115 a is threaded to the hub 55. A common central axis designated Xpasses through the housing 102 and the arbor axle tube 112 as shown inFIG. 2. As will be described presently, the housing 102 is cable ofrotating about the arbor axle tube 112.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 first and second roller bearings 114, 116 arepress fit on the arbor axle tube 112 and spaced a distance designated D1from one another. A spacer ring 118 is press fit on the first rollerbearing 114. An impeller ring 120 is press fit on the second rollerbearing 116. The housing 102 is press fit on the spacer ring 118 and theimpeller ring 120 has opposed first and second impeller ring sides 121,123 (best shown in FIG. 10). The impeller ring 120 has vanes 122 fordirecting the flow of air. Slots 124 are defined in the impeller ring120 to define the vanes 122, and the vanes 122 are for directing theflow of incoming air flow 80. The vanes 122 and the slots 124 are slopedor disposed at about a forty-five degree angle relative to the opposedfirst and second impeller ring sides 121, 123 in one of the preferredembodiments. The slots 124 have a negative slope as viewed in FIG. 10.

The two-stage live arbor 16 further includes an air redirection plate126 that defines a redirection plate opening 128 sized to receive thearbor axle tube 112. The air redirection plate 126 is moved over thearbor axle tube 112 and press fit to the arbor axle tube 112 such thatit is fixed to the arbor axle tube 112. Thus, the impeller ring 120 isdisposed between the first roller bearing 114 and the air redirectionplate 126. The air redirection plate 126 has air redirection plate vanes130 and defines air redirection plate slots 132 between the airredirection plate vanes 130. The air redirection plate 126 has opposedfirst and second air redirection plate sides 134, 136. The airredirection plate slots 132 and the air redirection plate vanes 130 aredisposed about a forty-five degree angle relative to the opposed firstand second air redirection plate sides 134, 136, and have a positiveslope as viewed in FIG. 10 in one of the preferred embodiments. Thus,the vanes 122 of the impeller ring 120 and the air redirection platevanes 130 are sloped in opposite directions relative to one another. Itis pointed out that the air redirection plate 126 is about 0.002 toabout 0.005 inches from the housing 102 in one of the preferredembodiments.

The second threaded arbor axle tube end 115 b is threaded to an internalpressure relief valve thread 142 of a pressure relief valve 140. As willbe described presently, the pressure relief valve 140 opens after thetwo stage live arbor 16 has started to spin by the air reacting throughthe impeller ring 120 and the air redirection plate 126.

The arbor axle tube 112 is hollow and defines arbor axle tube ports 144about the circumference of the arbor axle tube 112. In particular, thearbor axle tube ports 144 are defined in a portion 146 of the arbor axletube 112 disposed between the first roller bearing 114 and the secondroller bearing 116. There can be a plurality of arbor axle tube ports144 and each can have a diameter of about 0.125 inches in one of thepreferred embodiments. The arbor axle tube ports 144 are sloped in adirection toward the impeller ring 120 and can have a slope of aboutforty-five degrees in one of the preferred embodiments.

The housing 102, the arbor axle tube 112, the first roller bearing 114,the second roller bearing 116, the spacer ring 118 and the impeller ring120 define an arbor interior 148. Incoming air is thus capable offlowing through the arbor axle tube 112 and through the arbor axle tubeports 144 where it is delivered to the arbor interior 148. The incomingair flow 80 flows through the slots 124 of the impeller ring 120 andexits the impeller ring 124 at about a forty-five degree angle in one ofthe preferred embodiments. The incoming air flow 80 changes directionwhen is passes through the redirection plate slots 132 of the airredirection plate 126. The incoming air flow 80 initiates the rotationof the two-stage live arbor 16 as the incoming air flow 80 applies aforce against the vanes 122 of the impeller ring 120. The incoming air80 is redirected as it flows through the air redirection plated vanes130 directing the incoming air 80 in a direction to further generaterotation of two stage live arbor 16 and the V-grooved arbor nozzleadapter 17. It is pointed out that the initial incoming air flow 80 isisolated in the arbor interior 148 causes the rotation of both thetwo-stage live arbor 16 and the V-grooved nozzle adapter 17 to which itis threaded. It is pointed that the arbor interior 148 remains isolatedsuch that the flow of incoming air 80 is restricted to flowing throughthe vanes 122 of the impeller ring 120 air redirection plate vanes 130to initiate rotation of the two stage live arbor 16 until the pressurerelief valve 140 opens in response to an increased flow of incoming air80 supplied when the second solenoid valve 96 b opens.

In one of the preferred embodiments the air redirection plate 126 isspaced about 0.025 to about 0.075 inches from the impeller ring 120, andthis distance defines an air gap 150 between the two. The airredirection plate 126 is spaced about 0.002 to about 0.005 inches fromthe housing 102 in one of the preferred embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 6, 8, 9, 12-13 the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter17 has opposed first and second arbor nozzle adapter ends 152, 154, acylindrical wall 155 that extends from the first arbor, nozzle adapterend 152 to the second arbor nozzle adapter ends 154, and, an arbor endcap 157 that is joined to the second arbor nozzle adapter end 154. Thearbor end cap 157 has a beveled edge 159. The first arbor nozzle adapterend 152 has an internal adapter thread 156 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) that canbe threaded to the externally threaded portion 110 (FIG. 10) of thehousing 102. When the two-stage live arbor 16 is threaded to theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter 17 and they are joined, and the first andsecond roller bearings 114, 116 allow the arbor nozzle adapter 17 tofreely rotate relative to the stationary arbor axle tube 112. TheV-grooved arbor nozzle adaptor 17 has a length designated L in FIG. 12and the length L may be, for example six inches to twenty inches inlength, and may be embodied to have other lengths and virtually anydesired diameter. It is pointed out that a common central axisdesignated X in FIG. 8 passes through the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter17 and two stage live arbor 16.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 the cylindrical wall 155 of the V-groovedarbor nozzle adapter 17 has an external adapter surface 158. Formed inthe external adapter surface 158 are first and second nozzle adapterwalls 160, 162 that are disposed such that they face one another andslope in opposite directions. The first and second nozzle adapter walls160, 162 meet at a V-groove edge 164 that extends longitudinally alongthe V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter 17. Each of the opposed first andsecond nozzle adapter walls 160, 162 extends from about at or at thefirst arbor nozzle adapter end 152 to the second nozzle adapter end 154.Together, the first and second nozzle adapter walls 160, 162 define afirst V-shaped groove 166 in the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter 17.

The V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter 17 is hollow and has a V-groovednozzle adapter interior surface 167. Together the adapter interiorsurface 167 and the arbor end cap 157 define an adapter interior 168.The V-grooved nozzle adapter 17 defines nozzle adapter openings 170 thatextend and extend through the cylindrical wall 155. The nozzle adapteropenings 170 are defined such that they open at the V-groove edge 164formed by the first and second nozzle adapter walls 160, 162. Thus,incoming air flow 80 is directed as it flows from the adapter interior168, through the adapter nozzle openings 170 and into the first V-shapedgroove 166. As shown in FIG. 13, the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter 17defines an identically shaped second V-shaped groove 166 a that isdiametrically opposed the previously described V-shaped groove 166, suchthat first and second V-shaped grooves 166, 166 a are spaced and defined180 degrees apart from one another on the V-grooved nozzle adapter 17.The second V-shaped groove 166 a is defined by first and second nozzleadapter walls 160 a, 162 a that meet at a V-groove edge 164 a, andnozzle adapter openings 170 a are defined in the second V-shaped groove166 that open into the second V-shaped groove 166 a.

The air incoming air 80 exiting each of the adapter nozzle openings 170,170 a has a an elliptical shaped pattern 171 (see FIGS. 13, 13 a and 13b) that impacts the air filter interior surface 23, and this providesfor enhanced blowing of debris 50 out of the air filter 11. Theelliptical shaped patterns 171 created by adjacent nozzle adapteropenings 170 overlap one another as indicated by reference number 171 a.In addition, in one of the preferred embodiments the nozzle adapteropenings 170, 170 a can be in defined so as to be in as spaced apartgroups 173, 173 a each having, for example, four or five nozzle adapteropenings 170, 170 a, respectively. As shown, the spaced apart groups 173are offset relative to the spaced apart groups 173 a. This allows forthe air filter interior surface 23 to be impacted by air exiting thenozzle adapter openings 170, 170 a as the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter17 rotates.

The arbor end cap 157 defines end cap ports 161 that are in fluidcommunication with the adapter interior 168. The end cap ports 161 areangled at about a forty-five degree angle relative to the nozzle adapteropenings 170 such that the incoming air flow 80 exiting the end capports 161 impacts the end portion 13 (see FIG. 6) of the air filter 11that is being cleaned. Thus, the entire air filter interior surface 23is cleaned.

In use, the user (not shown) user first rotates the lid 14 such that thelid lifting bar 60 and the incoming air cross tube 66 are moved out ofthe latches 78 and turns the hand crank 88 causing the strap 89 to coilaround the stabilizer bar 86 to which it is connected. As rotation ofthe hand crank 88 continues the lid 14 and V-grooved arbor nozzleadapter 17 are raised out of the vessel body 12, thus exposing thebeaded cords 70 and the filter support grid plate 73. The user thenlifts the lid 14 off of the vessel body 12 and flips or inverts the lid14 and places the lid 14 on the vessel body 12 such that the lid 14 isin a lid inverted position 189 as shown in FIG. 19. The user theninstalls or removes air filters 11 by adjusting the beaded cords 70 aspreviously described. If an air filter 11 needs to be cleaned, then theuser positions the filter on the lid 14, adjusts the beaded cords 70accordingly and attaches the filter support grid plate 73 to the beadedcords 70. The lid 14 flipped over and moved into the vessel body 12 andis rotated until the lid cross bar 60 and the incoming air cross tube 66are rotated into the latches 78. When in place the elbow 111 and airnipple 109 are fitted to the coupler body 107. Next, incoming air 80from the accumulator 90 initially flows through the air supply assembly21 at a reduced flow rate and through the incoming air cross tube 66.The air flows through the hub 55 and the arbor axle tube 112 and throughthe arbor axle tube ports 144 and into the arbor interior 148. Theincoming air 80 flows through the slots 124 defined by the vanes 122 ofthe impeller ring 120, and through the air redirection plate slots 132defined by the air redirection plate vanes 130 of the air redirectionplate 126. This causes the two stage V-grooved live arbor 17 to begin torotate. The incoming air 80 also flows out of the arbor interior 148 andthrough the housing port 125 to begin cleaning the air filter 11. Then,the air supply assembly 21 sends a greater volume of air into the arboraxle tube 112 and this opens and exits the pressure relief valve 140 andenters the spinning V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter 17. The incoming air80 exits the nozzle adapter openings 170, 170 a and the housing port 125and impacts the air filter interior surface 23 blowing dirt and debris50 out of the air filter 11. It is pointed out that the housing port 125allows an end portion 27 of the air filer 11 to be cleaned. After theair filter 11 has been cleaned the reverse of the above describedprocess is employed to remove the air filter 11 from the vessel body 12.It is pointed out that due to the offset arrangement of the nozzleadapter openings 170, 170 a and the presence of the end cap ports 161and housing port 125 the entire air filter interior surface 23 isexposed to the blasts of air, thus blowing dirt and debris 50 out of theair filter 11. The dirt and debris 50 falls in the debris bag 51 (FIG.2). In addition dirty exhaust air flows through the outflow filter 42and the HEPA filter 42 a and out the exhaust tubes 40 and 41. Ifinternal pressure in the vessel body becomes to great, then theprogrammable logic controller 95 will sense this and power off theapparatus 10.

The air filter 11 may be cleaned in this manner in 2-45 minutesdepending on the size thereof. In addition, the air filterreconditioning apparatus 10 is designed to run on a minimum of six cubicfeet of air per minute (though it can operate on less with the sameresults increasing cycle time), which is significantly less than thethirty cubic feet per minute called for in other systems. And, the airfilter reconditioning apparatus 10 does not require any vacuum source orexternal debris 50 collection system, as do other air filter cleaners.The air filter reconditioning apparatus 10 is portable such that it canbe readily carried (by one or two people) to different work sites. Forexample, air filter reconditioning apparatus 10 may have a total weightof about 150 pounds. The power requirements for the air filterreconditioning apparatus 10 are low compared to other air filtercleaning systems. The vessel body 12 may be wrapped in a sound absorbingmaterial so as to make the air filter reconditioning apparatus 10substantially silent when operating. In addition, the PLC 95 andpressure transducer 94 enables the air filter reconditioning apparatus10 to clean air filters 11 in accordance with the manufacturer's airpressure parameters.

FIG. 14 is another preferred embodiment wherein the V-grooved arbornozzle adapter 17 is replaced with a selective nozzle adapter 200 havingan internal selective nozzle adapter thread 202 that is threaded to thehousing 102 of the two stage live arbor 16. The selective nozzle adapter200 is shaped like a bar or may be shaped like a crossbar and hasdefines bar openings 206 that serve as bar nozzles 207 for directing theflow of incoming air 80 out of the selective nozzle adapter 200 anddirectly into air filter 11 a. The bar nozzles 207 can be conical shapedand can be angled outward for complete coverage of the air filter 11 a.An adaptor ring 204 is provided and it surrounds the selective nozzleadapter 200. A pressure relief valve 140 is disposed at the end of thearbor axle tube 112. The web plate 69 supports beaded cords 70, and thebeaded cords 70 support the filter support grid plate 73. The size ofthe selective nozzle adapter 200, the adapter ring 204 may be selectedto be virtually any suitable size to accommodate a particular air filter11 a. The hold down ring 210 has a hold down ring opening 214, and thehold down ring 210 supports the air filter 11 a. The air filter 11 a maybe embodied as a PowerCore® brand air filter or a panel filter. Such airfilters 11 a may be embodied to have a plurality tubes such that a crosssection of the plurality of tubes is similar in appearance to ahoneycomb (as contrasted with a cylindrically shaped air filter shown inFIG. 6). The incoming air flow 80 passes through and exits the barnozzles 207 while the selective nozzle adapter 200 rotates. Thus, allportions of the air filter 11 a are cleaned due to the force of theincoming air dislodging debris 50 and dirt. Thus, the selective nozzleadapter 200 advantageously allows smaller dimensioned air filters 11 ato be cleaned, for example the air filters used in small portableequipment and filter bags, and also allows PowerCore® brand air filtersto be cleaned.

As shown in FIG. 1, the PLC 95 of the air supply assembly 21 includes atap-out mode that when activated causes the vibrator 46 or a puffernozzle to produce vibrations that are transferred to the outflow filter42. This is useful for the self-cleaning of outflow filters 42, and theposition and design (honeycomb) of the outflow filter 42 encourages suchself-cleaning. A reduced cubic foot per minute of airflow would also beused.

FIG. 15 shows another preferred embodiment of the air filterreconditioning apparatus 10 for use in connection with cleaning smallengine air filters 11 b, for example air filters 11 b used in connectionwith mowers, power tools, powered hand held tools, and the like. Thereis a two stage nozzle adapter 16 and arbor axle tube 112 as previouslydescribed. In addition, there is a filter platform assembly 300 having aplatform portion 302 from which extends a connecting hub 304 having aninternal connecting hub thread 306. The internal connecting hub thread306 is threaded to the arbor axle tube 112. The connecting hub 304 has aconnecting hub opening 310. The air filter 11 b has opposed first andsecond air filter end plates 314, 316. The first air filter end plate314 abuts against the platform portion 302 of the filter platformassembly 300. The air filter assembly 300 further includes a stud 318with first and second stud ends 320, 322, a wing nut 48, and a supportmember 324 that is joined to the first stud end 320 and the platformportion 302. The stud 318 has a threaded stud portion 330 that extendsalong the stud 318 and beginning at the second stud end 322. In use, thefirst end plate 314 of the air filter 11 b is positioned against theplatform portion 302 and the wing nut 48 is tightened. The air filter 11b is thus held stationary while the incoming air 80 flows through thearbor axle tube 112 and into the air filter 11 b.

FIG. 16 is sectional view of another preferred embodiment of the airfilter reconditioning apparatus 10 designed for cleaning and air filters11 that are cylindrically shaped and have a diameter of about three anda half inches or less. In this embodiment the air filter 11 rotatesabout the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter 17, that is, the V-groovednozzle adapter 17 is stationary relative to the air filter 11. Inparticular, the V-grooved nozzle adapter 17 is threadably connected tothe pressure relief valve 140, and the pressure relief valve 140 isthreadably connected to the arbor axle tube 112. There is a filtersupport attachment 400 that includes an attachment base 402 that definesan attachment base opening 404, and extending from the attachment base400 is a cylindrical attachment wall 406. The cylindrical attachmentwall 406 has an internal adapter thread 156. The internal adapter thread156 is threaded to the externally threaded portion 110 of the housing102. The air filter 11 is supported on the filter support grid plate 73,and the filter support grid plate 73 is supported from the attachmentbase 402 by the beaded cords 70.

In use, the two stage live arbor 16 rotates in response to the flow ofincoming air 80 in the manner previously described and rotates the airfilter 11. And, the and nozzle adapter openings 170 expel air thatimpacts the air filter interior surface 23 thus blowing debris 50 out ofthe rotating filter 11.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show another preferred embodiment for cleaning a filterbag 500 that defines a filter bag opening 501, for example a filter bag500 used in connection with vacuum devices. The two stage live arbor 16is the same as previously described, as is the V-grooved arbor nozzleadapter 17. A clamp 502 is provided and the clamp 502 is embodied as aworm drive band clamp in one of the preferred embodiments. The clamp 502has a band 504 and an adjustment screw 506. Upon turning the adjustmentscrew 506 the band can be selectively expanded or contracted. Worm driveband clamps are well known to those having ordinary skill in the art.

In use, the filter bag 500 is positioned on the housing 102 such thatthe housing 102 is disposed in the filter bag opening 501. The user thentightens the adjustment screw 506 until the filter bag 500 is compressedagainst the housing 102. The filter bag 500 is thus secured in place.The incoming air flow 80 flows out of the two stage live arbor 16 andthe nozzle adapter openings 170. As the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter17 rotates the air impacts an internal filter bag surface 510 of thefilter bag 500. Debris 50 is thus blown out of the filter bag 500. Theadjustment screw 506 is loosened and the filter bag 500 is removed afterthe cleaning process is complete.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while an airfilter reconditioning apparatus and method 10 have been described indetail herein, the invention is not necessarily so limited and otherexamples, embodiments, uses, modifications, and departures from theembodiments, examples, uses, and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the air filter reconditioning apparatus and method 10 andall such embodiments are intended to be within the scope and spirit ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An air filter reconditioning apparatuscomprising: an air filter cleaning assembly having; a vessel body and alid that is capable of being secured to the vessel body; an arbor axletube that defines an arbor axle tube port and the arbor axle tube andarbor axle tube port are for delivering incoming air and wherein thearbor axle tube is supported by the lid; a two stage live arbor having afirst roller bearing fitted on the arbor axle tube, a spacer ring fittedon the first roller bearing, a second roller bearing fitted on the arboraxle tube, an impeller ring fitted on the second roller bearing and thefirst and second roller bearings are spaced a distance from one another,and a housing that is fitted on the spacer ring and the impeller ringsuch that the housing is capable of rotating around the arbor axle tubewhen the arbor axle tube is stationary such that the lid supports thetwo-stage live arbor; the two stage live arbor further includes an airredirection plate having an air redirection plate opening and press fitto the arbor axle tube and positioned in the housing such that theimpeller ring and second roller bearing are disposed between the airredirection plate and the first roller bearing and the spacer ring; thehousing, the arbor axle tube, the spacer ring, the first roller bearing,the second roller bearing and impeller ring define an arbor interior andthe arbor interior is in fluid communication with the arbor axle tubeport and wherein the housing defines a housing port that is in fluidcommunication with the arbor interior; a V-grooved arbor nozzle adapterthreadably connected to the housing such that the V-grooved arbor nozzleadapter is positioned adjacent the air redirection plate such that thearbor nozzle adapter is in fluid communication with incoming air exitingthe air redirection plate and the arbor axle tube; and, an air supplyassembly having an accumulator and a compressor and the accumulator ismounted on the vessel body and the air supply assembly for providingsource of incoming air flow to rotate the two stage live arbor.
 2. Theair filter reconditioning apparatus according to claim 1 wherein theimpeller ring has vanes that define impeller ring slots for directingthe flow of the incoming air flow.
 3. The air filter reconditioningapparatus according to claim 2 wherein the air redirection plate has airredirection plate vanes that define air redirection plate slots fordirecting the flow of the incoming air flow and the redirection platevanes and the vanes of the impeller ring are sloped in oppositedirections.
 4. The air filter reconditioning apparatus according toclaim 1 further including a hub mounted on the lid and the hub isthreaded to the arbor axle tube, a lid cross bar threaded to andextending from the hub, and an incoming air cross tube, and the incomingair cross tube is in fluid communication with the arbor axle tube suchthat incoming air is delivered to the arbor axle tube, and a latchesextending from the vessel body and the lid is capable of being rotatedsuch that the lid cross bar and the incoming air cross tube are movablein and out of the latches, and the lid supports beaded cords forsupporting an air filter.
 5. The air filter reconditioning apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter hasopposed first and second arbor nozzle adapter ends and a cylindricalwall that extends from the first arbor nozzle adapter end to the secondarbor nozzle adapter end with an arbor end cap having a beveled edgejoined to the second arbor nozzle adapter end and the first arboradapter end is joined to the housing.
 6. The air filter reconditioningapparatus according to claim 5 wherein the cylindrical wall has anexternal adapter surface having facing first and second adapter wallsthat slope in opposite directions and meet at a V-groove edge and thefirst and second adapter walls define a first V-shaped groove such thatthe first V-shaped groove and the V-groove edge extend longitudinallyalong the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter.
 7. The air filterreconditioning apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the V-groovedarbor nozzle adapter has an adapter interior surface and the adapterinterior surface and the end cap define an adapter interior forreceiving the incoming air flow, and the V-grooved nozzle adapterdefines nozzle adapter openings that extend through the adapter interiorsurface and through the V-groove edge such that the nozzle adapteropenings are in fluid communication with the first V-shaped groove. 8.The air filter reconditioning apparatus according to claim 7 wherein thearbor end cap defines end cap ports that are in fluid communication withthe adapter interior and the end cap ports are angled at about aforty-five degree angle relative to the cylindrical wall of theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter such that the incoming air flow exitingthe end cap ports impacts and an end portion of an air filter.
 9. Theair filter reconditioning apparatus according to claim 8 wherein theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter defines a second V-shaped groove that isin fluid communication with nozzle adapter openings defined in theV-grooved arbor nozzle adapter and the second V-shaped groove isdiametrically opposed to the first V-shaped groove such that the firstand second V-shaped grooves are defined 180 degrees apart from oneanother on the V-grooved nozzle adapter.
 10. The air filterreconditioning apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the nozzle adapteropenings that are in fluid communication with the first V-shaped grooveare defined in spaced apart groups and the nozzle adapter openings thatare in fluid communication with the second V-shaped groove are definedin spaced apart groups wherein the spaced apart groups of nozzle adapteropenings defined in the first V-shaped groove are offset relative to thespaced apart groups of nozzle adapter openings defined in the secondV-shaped groove such that upon rotation of the V-grooved arbor nozzleadapter an entire air filter interior surface of the air filter isimpacted by the air exiting the nozzle adapter openings.
 11. The airfilter reconditioning apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the airexiting each of the adapter nozzle openings has an elliptical shapepattern and the elliptical shaped pattern of air impacts the air filterinterior surface to blow debris out of the air filter.
 12. The airfilter reconditioning apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the airsupply assembly has a programmable logic controller.
 13. The air filterreconditioning apparatus according to claim 12 further including apressure transducer in communication with the accumulator and theprogrammable logic controller and first and second solenoid valves influid communication with the accumulator and under the control of theprogrammable logic controller and wherein a low flow of the incoming airflow is provided to the a two stage live arbor to initiate rotationthereof when the first solenoid valve opens and a greater flow of theincoming air flow is provided to the arbor axle tube when the secondsolenoid valve is opened.
 14. The air filter reconditioning apparatusaccording to claim 13 further including a manifold connected to thefirst and second solenoid valves and connected to an air hose with theair hose connected to a pipe, and a guide is provided and the pipe issupported by the guide and the guide is supported by the vessel body,and a coupler body is provided that is joined to the pipe, and an airnipple is joined to the pipe and joined to an elbow wherein the elbow isjoined to the incoming air cross tube and the air nipple is engaged withthe coupler body such that incoming air flow will not enter the incomingair cross tube if the incoming air cross tube and the air nipple notengaged.
 15. An air filter reconditioning apparatus comprising: an airfilter cleaning assembly having; a vessel body and a lid capable that iscapable of being secured to the vessel body; an arbor axle tube thatdefines an arbor axle tube port and the arbor axle tube and arbor axletube port are for delivering incoming air flow and wherein the arboraxle tube is supported by the lid; a two stage live arbor having a firstroller bearing fitted on the arbor axle tube, a spacer ring fitted onthe first roller bearing, a second roller bearing fitted on the arboraxle tube, an impeller ring fitted on the second roller bearing and thefirst and second roller bearings are spaced a distance from one another,and a housing that is fitted on the spacer ring and the impeller ringsuch that the housing is capable of rotating around the arbor axle tubewhen the arbor axle tube is stationary such that the lid supports thetwo-stage live arbor; the two stage live arbor further includes anredirection plate having an air redirection plate opening and press fitto the arbor axle tube and positioned in the housing such that theimpeller ring and second roller bearing are disposed between the airredirection plate and the first roller bearing and the spacer ring; thehousing, the arbor axle tube, the spacer ring, the first roller bearing,the second roller bearing and impeller ring define an arbor interior andthe arbor interior is in fluid communication with the arbor axle tubeport; a V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter threadably connected to thehousing such that the V-grooved arbor nozzle adapter is positionedadjacent the air redirection plate such that the arbor nozzle adapter isin fluid communication with incoming air exiting the air redirectionplate and the arbor axle tube; and, an air supply assembly having anaccumulator for storing compressed air and for providing a source of theincoming air to the arbor axle tube and wherein the accumulator ismounted to a vessel body.
 16. The air filter reconditioning apparatusaccording to claim 15 further including a selective nozzle adapterthreadably connected to the housing and having a bar and wherein the bardefines bar openings for directing the flow of incoming air into an airfilter.
 17. The air filter reconditioning apparatus according to claim15 further including a filter platform assembly having a platformportion and a connecting hub extending from the platform portion and theconnecting hub threadably joined to the arbor axle tube, and the filterplatform assembly further having a support member joined to the platformportion and to a stud having a wing nut such that an air filter disposedbetween the platform portion and the wing nut is capable of beingsupported.
 18. The air filter reconditioning apparatus according toclaim 15 further including a the V-grooved nozzle adapter threadablyconnected to a pressure relief valve joined to the arbor axle tube, anda filter support attachment having an attachment base that defines anattachment base opening and a cylindrical attachment wall extends fromthe attachment base and the cylindrical attachment wall is threadablyconnected to the housing such that the housing and filter supportattachment are capable of rotating around the V-grooved nozzle adapter.19. The air filter reconditioning apparatus according to claim 15further including a clamp having an adjustment band and a screw, and afilter bag that defines a filter bag opening and wherein the housing ispartly disposed internal to the filter bag and the filter bag issecurely held to the housing with adjustment band and the screw of theclamp.